Rig Veda 10.161.3: Mandala 10, Sukta 161, Mantra 3
Sukta 10.161
- Rishi
- Traditionally connected with Atharvanic healing/āyuṣya strands
- Devata
- Indra with āyuṣya/healing intent
- Chandas
- Tr̥ṣṭubh-like cadence
- Rasa
- Adbhuta (wonder) and Vira (heroism)
सहस्राक्षेण शतशारदेन शतायुषा हविषाहार्षमेनम् । शतं यथेमं शरदो नयातीन्द्रो विश्वस्य दुरितस्य पारम् ॥
sahasrākṣeṇa śataśāradena śatāyuṣā haviṣāhārṣam enam | śataṃ yathemáṃ śarádo nayātīndró víśvasya duritásya pārám ||
सहस्राक्षेण शतशारदेन शतायुषा हविषाहार्षमेनम् । शतं यथेमं शरदो नयातीन्द्रो विश्वस्य दुरितस्य पारम् ॥
Word by Word
- सहस्राक्षेण
- with the thousand-eyed (one)Adjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (विशेषण-रूप), तृतीया एकवचनRole KaraṇaRoot सहस्राक्ष (प्रातिपदिक; सहस्र + अक्षि) अथवा अक्षि- (नेत्र)
- शतशारदेन
- with (power) of a hundred autumns/yearsAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (विशेषण-रूप), तृतीया एकवचनRole KaraṇaRoot शतशारद (प्रातिपदिक; शत + शारद ‘autumnal/yearly’)
- शतायुषा
- with a hundredfold lifespan; long-livedAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (विशेषण-रूप), तृतीया एकवचनRole KaraṇaRoot शतायुस् (प्रातिपदिक; शत + आयुस्) अथवा आयुस्-
- हविषा
- with oblationNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया एकवचनRole KaraṇaRoot हविस् (प्रातिपदिक)
- आ
- towards; unto (prefix)Indeclinableउपसर्ग (क्रियायोगे)Root आ (उपसर्ग)
- अर्षम्
- (he/it) drove/caused to flow; I/one drove (aorist form used in mantra)Verbलुङ् (अorist), उत्तमपुरुष? न; प्रथमपुरुष एकवचन, परस्मैपद (अर्षत्-प्रकार; RV रूप: अर्षम्)Role KriyāRoot ऋष् (धातु; ‘to flow/move, rush’)
- एनम्
- him; this onePronounपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचनRole KarmaRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक; एनद्-श्रुति)
- शतम्
- a hundredNumeralनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया/प्रथमा एकवचन (अव्ययवत् संख्यारूप)Role Karma (परिमाण) / ViśeṣaṇaRoot शत (संख्यावाचक प्रातिपदिक)
- यथा
- as; so thatIndeclinableउपमान/प्रकारवाचक अव्ययRoot यथा (निपात/सम्बन्धाव्यय)
- इमम्
- this (one)Pronounपुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचनRole KarmaRoot इदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
- शरदः
- autumns; yearsNounस्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया बहुवचन (RV: शरदः = शरदस्) अथवा प्रथमा बहुवचन सन्दर्भानुसारRole Karma (काल-परिमाण) / Adhikaraṇa (काल)Root शरद् (प्रातिपदिक)
- नयाति
- leads; bringsVerbलट् (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष एकवचन, परस्मैपदRole KriyāRoot नी (धातु; ‘to lead’)
- इन्द्रः
- IndraNounपुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा एकवचनRole KartāRoot इन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
- विश्वस्य
- of all; of the wholeAdjectiveनपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी एकवचनRole Sambandha (genitive)Root विश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
- दुरितस्य
- of misfortune/evilNounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी एकवचनRole Sambandha (genitive)Root दुरित (प्रातिपदिक; ‘evil, distress, sin’)
- पारम्
- the far shore; the end (beyond)Nounनपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया एकवचनRole Karma (गन्तव्य/प्राप्य)Root पार (प्रातिपदिक; ‘far shore, end’)
Sandhi Notes
- सहस्राक्षेण शतशारदेन शतायुषा हविषा आर्षम् एनम् → पदच्छेदः: सहस्राक्षेण | शतशारदेन | शतायुषा | हविषा | आ | अर्षम् | एनम् । शतं यथा इमं शरदः नयाति इन्द्रः विश्वस्य दुरितस्य पारम् → पदच्छेदः: शतम् | यथा | इमम् | शरदः | नयाति | इन्द्रः | विश्वस्य | दुरितस्य | पारम् । (आ + अर्षम् = आर्षम्; यथे + इमम् = यथा इमम्; नया + अति = नयाति; इन्द्रो + विश्वस्य = इन्द्रः विश्वस्य)
The meaning
Outer meaning
With the thousand-eyed power, with a hundred autumns and a hundredfold life, by the offering I have brought him here—so that Indra may lead him through a hundred seasons beyond the far shore of all distress.
Inner meaning
‘Sahasrākṣa’ is wide vision—the many-eyed awareness that sees through the movements of the being. The offering (havis) is the gathered aspiration that re-establishes life. The aim is not mere survival but passage ‘beyond the far shore’ (pāram) of durita—wrong movement, suffering, and error. Indra is invoked as the leader who guides consciousness across the inner flood of disorder into wideness and right being.
Universal truth
True healing culminates in guidance: life restored must be led by illumination so it crosses beyond suffering into a stable, widening order.
Themes
āyuṣya (life-extension), healing/protection, crossing-beyond-distress, Indra-as-leader
The seer
- Other hymns
- RV 10.161.1, RV 10.161.2, RV 10.161.4
Family tradition
Āyuṣya-protection tradition focusing on restoration and safe passage through adversity.
Significance
The rishi is a guide across durita: healing is framed as a journey led by Indra’s illumination toward a farther, freer shore of being.
The deity
- Devata
- Indra
- Epithets
- Sahasrākṣa (thousand-eyed), Neta (leader/guide—function here), Vṛtrahan, Maghavan
- Related deities
- Agni, Savitṛ, Bṛhaspati, Aśvins
Cosmic role
Leads the being through seasons of growth, conquers distress, establishes wideness and victory over wrong movement.
Inner power
Guiding illumination that not only cures but educates the nature—turning suffering into passage toward freedom.
In ritual
Where it is used
Āyuṣya rite with explicit Indra-guidance intention
स॒ह॒स्रा॒क्षेण॑ श॒तशा॑रदेन श॒तायु॑षा ह॒विषाहा॑र्षमेनम् । श॒तं यथे॒मं श॒रदो॒ नया॒तीन्द्रो॒ विश्व॑स्य दुरि॒तस्य॑ पा॒रम् ॥
स॒ह॒स्र॒ऽअ॒क्षेण॑ । श॒तऽशा॑रदेन । श॒तऽआ॑युषा । ह॒विषा॑ । आ । अ॒हा॒र्ष॒म् । ए॒न॒म् । श॒तम् । यथा॑ । इ॒मम् । श॒रदः॑ । नया॑ति । इन्द्रः॑ । विश्व॑स्य । दुः॒ऽइ॒तस्य॑ । पा॒रम् ॥
sahasra-akṣeṇa | śata-śāradena | śata-āyuṣā | haviṣā | ā | ahārṣam | enam | śatam | yathā | imam | śaradaḥ | nayāti | indraḥ | viśvasya | duḥ-itasya | pāram
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4×~11; strong narrative movement from invocation to purpose clause
Expansive and processional—suited to ‘leading across’ imagery.
Elicits confidence and forward momentum; the ‘pāram’ ending feels like an arrival beyond a boundary.
- सहस्राक्ष (sahasrākṣa)
- Literal: thousand-eyed. Symbolic: wide seeing; luminous vigilance of consciousness
- शतशारद (śataśārada)
- Literal: hundred autumns. Symbolic: full ripening cycle; mature longevity
- शतायुष् (śatāyuṣ)
- Literal: hundredfold life. Symbolic: abundant prāṇa and continuity of soul-force
- हविषा (havisā)
- Literal: by the oblation. Symbolic: by offered aspiration and will
- दुरित (durita)
- Literal: difficulty, sin, misfortune. Symbolic: wrong movement, suffering patterns, disharmony of nature
- पारम् (pāram)
- Literal: further shore. Symbolic: state beyond suffering—wideness, freedom, right order
Āyuṣya (life-prolonging) and apamṛtyu/duḥsvapna-removal applications; adaptable to domestic/atharvanic healing rites and protective recitation alongside oblation (haviṣ).
After acute danger has passed—consecrating recovery and future well-being; also for long-life blessings.
Oblation with recitation; blessing the recovered person to be ‘led’ through seasons.
Post-recovery integration: chant to establish a new life-direction guided by clarity (Indra), not a return to old durita patterns.
sahasra ‘thousand’ + akṣa ‘eye’ (< √aś/akṣ ‘to reach/see’, akṣi ‘eye’); śarad ‘autumn, year-season’ (cycle of ripening); āyus ‘life-force, lifespan’ (< √i ‘to go’ with āyus as ‘course of life’); haviṣ ‘oblation’ (< √hu ‘to pour/offer’); ā-hṛ ‘to bring towards’ (aor. 1sg ahārṣam); nī ‘to lead’ (nayāti); durita ‘hard-going, misfortune’ (dur- ‘bad/difficult’ + ita ‘gone’ from √i ‘go’); pāra ‘far bank’ (< √pṛ/√pṝ ‘to pass over, carry across’ semantic field).
R̥ta as right movement opposed to durita (mis-going), guidance of consciousness by Indra (luminous mind-force), āyuṣ as continuity of the soul’s embodied course
Indra leads from durita (anti-ṛta) to a farther shore of ṛta—right rhythm across time (seasons).
Many-eyed vision = truth-seeing that prevents relapse into falsehood and wrong movement.
Guided evolution through cycles (śarad/season) toward widening consciousness.
Integral yoga resonance: healing as step in conscious evolution; Indra as illumined mind guiding transformation.
autumn (explicit)
Seasons = stages of growth; farther shore = stable freedom; thousand eyes = mindful awareness distributed through the being.
- What is the primary Vedic 'mythologem' present in this verse?
- The ‘crossing to the farther shore’ (pāram) led by Indra: a recurrent Vedic mythic pattern where the luminous power guides the human being beyond danger/obstruction. Here the enemy is not named (e.g., Vṛtra) but generalized as durita—wrong movement and suffering—making the mythologem inward and universal.
- How does the linguistic structure reflect Proto-Indo-European roots?
- dur- as a negative prefix parallels PIE *dus- ‘bad, difficult’ (cf. Gk δυσ-, Lat. dus-/dis- in some formations). The verb √nī ‘lead’ aligns with PIE *neiH- ‘to lead’ (cf. Lat. nītor?; more securely Eng. ‘nigh’ is different; but Indo-Iranian *naya- is well established). The ‘far shore’ pāra matches Indo-Iranian crossing imagery; the semantic field of ‘passing over’ is widespread in PIE poetics (river/ford as liminal passage).
- What is the relationship between the Rishi and the Devata here?
- The speaker performs a conscious offering (haviṣ) as an act of self-giving will, and in response invokes Indra’s guiding force to carry the person beyond durita. The reciprocity is: human aspiration/consecration → descent of Indra’s leading power → establishment of long, ripening life (śata-āyuṣ, śata-śarad).
Wide vision (sahasrākṣa): expand awareness to include body, breath, mind, and surroundings; then invite Indra as inner guide to lead beyond habitual suffering loops.
viśuddha (clarity and truthful guidance)
ujjāyī lightly for 3–5 minutes; on each exhale feel ‘duritasya pāram’—letting distress fall behind.
Widened, guided, forward-moving.
After chanting, journal one ‘durita’ pattern to cross beyond and one concrete step aligned with Indra-like clarity; seal with a minute of silent spaciousness.
Rigvedic accents; keep sahasrākṣeṇa prominent; end cadence resolves on pāram.
Sustain long vowels in sahasrā́kṣeṇa, śatā́yuṣā; slight pause before ‘indraḥ’ to mark the guiding agent.
sahasrākṣeṇa: ‘kṣe’ cluster clear (kṣ-e), not ‘khe’, āhārṣam: long ā; retroflex ṣ, nayāti: y-glide clean; long ā, duritasya: do not drop the short i; articulate du-ri-ta
Clear, expansive, gently triumphant.
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